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India

1951-1960

– The SK Patil Film Enquiry Committee report notes a shift from the studio system to independent entrepreneurship.   It criticises the star system and proposes state funding of film production, the foundation of a film finance body, a film institute and film archive. [MORE] [ADD]

– Chandulal Shah is appointed first president of the Film Federation of India (FFI).  [MORE] [ADD]

– The Central Board of Film Censors, with the film industry represented by B. N. Sircar, is established.  [MORE] [ADD]

– Russian director Vselevod Pudovkin and actor Nikolai Cherkasov meet Indian filmmakers in Bombay, Calutta and Madras.  [MORE] [ADD]

– Guru Dutt makes his directorial debut with Baazi (A Game of Chance), starring Dev Anand. [MORE] [ADD]

– The Indian Express Group publishes the first issue of the weekly newspaper Screen. [MORE] [ADD]

The Indian International Film Festival (Filmotsav), the first in Asia, takes place in Bombay.   40 feature-length films from 21 countries will be screened. [MORE] [ADD]

– The Indian Cinematograph Act 1952 replaces the old 1918 Act.  [MORE] [ADD]

– Bimal Roy establishes his own production company in Bombay.  [MORE] [ADD]

– Bombay Talkies ceases production.  [MORE] [ADD]

– A delegation led by Chandulal Shah visits Hollywood to meet prominent filmmakers and study their production techniques. [MORE] [ADD]

– Filmfare, claiming to be the country’s first serious film journal, is published.  [MORE] [ADD]

– The Hindi tabloid Cinema is published.  [MORE] [ADD]

– West Pakistan bans imports of Indian films.  [MORE] [ADD]

India 1952: Other Films of Note

Jhansi Ki Rani (Sohrab Modi) [MORE] [ADD]

Nagarik (Ritwik Ghatak) [MORE] [ADD]

Parasakthi (R. Krishnan, S. Panju) [MORE] [ADD]

– Sohrab Modi’s Jhansi Ki Rani (The Queen of Jhansi), the first Indian film shot in Technicolor, is released in both Indian and English-language versions. [MORE] [ADD]

– Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zameen gets recognition at the Cannes Film Festival and wins the Social Progress Award at Karlovy Vary. [MORE] [ADD]

– Changes in censorship laws mean that films must be re-certified every five years, and that a copy or script of each film must be deposited with the Censorship Board.  [MORE] [ADD]

– Prabhat Studios ceases production.  [MORE] [ADD]

– An amendment to the Cinematograph Act enables authorities to suspend exhibition of certified films. [MORE] [ADD]

– The weekly industry journal Trade Guide is published for the first time.  [MORE] [ADD]

– The Maiden Filmfare Awards are awarded for the first time.  [MORE] [ADD]

India 1953: Other Films of Note

Anarkali (Nandlal Jaswantlal) [MORE] [ADD]

Avvaiyyar (Kothamangalam Subbu) [MORE] [ADD]

Parineeta (Bimal Roy) [MORE] [ADD]

– Ezra Mir’s Pamposh is the first Indian colour film processed entirely within the country. [MORE] [ADD]

– P. K. Atre’s Marathi film Shyamchi Aai (1953) receives the first President’s Gold Medal for best feature film. [MORE] [ADD]

– An Indian Film Festival is held in the Soviet Union, where Awaara (1951) is a big hit.  [MORE] [ADD]

– Kwaja Ahmad Abbas’ Munna, the second Indian film without songs, is released. [MORE] [ADD]

Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali, the first of a trilogy of films that follow the life of a poor young Brahmin boy called Apu (Subir Bannerjee), is released. [MORE] [ADD}

– V. Shantaram’s Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje (The Tinkling of Anklets) is released.   It is the first Technicolor film made in India by Indian technicians. [MORE] [ADD}

The government bans six US and two British films – including The African Queen and Mogambo – for showing a ‘disparaging’ view of life in Africa following demonstrations by African students.  [MORE] [ADD]

– The silver jubilee of the Indian talkie is celebrated in Bombay.   [MORE] [ADD]

– The government refuses to supply ‘approved’ compulsory propaganda films free of charge to distributors.  [MORE] [ADD]

– A ban on the construction of new cinemas in Bombay is lifted.   [MORE] [ADD]

– The Kerala Film Chamber is established in Cochin.   [MORE] [ADD]

– The first issue of the Andhra Film Journal is published in Vijaywada.   [MORE] [ADD]

– The first issue of the Hindi film journal Film Sangeet is published.   [MORE] [ADD]

– Invited to India at the request of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Italian director Roberto Rossellini begins work on the documentary film India 57.   His visa is allowed to expire after his affair with screenwriter Sonali Das Gupta creates a scandal.   [MORE] [ADD]

India 1956: Other Films of Note

Ek din raatre (Shambhu Mitra, Amit Maitra)  [MORE] [ADD]

Ek Hi Rasta (B. R. Chopra)  [MORE] [ADD]

–  Khwaja Ahmad Abbas’ Pardesi (Journey Beyond the Sea), the first Indo-Soviet co-production, is released. [MORE] [ADD]

– The importation of raw film stock is centrally controlled after it is declared an essential commodity. [MORE] [ADD]

– The Cinematograph Bill to establish a National Film Board, Production Bureau and Film Institute is withdrawn. [MORE] [ADD]

– The Indian Film Quarterly, founded by Chidananda Das Gupta and Satyarit Ray amongst others, begins publication. [MORE] [ADD]

India 1957: Other Films of Note

Pyaasa (Guru Dutt) [MORE] [ADD]

– D. N. Sampath, founder of Kohinoor Talkies, dies.  [MORE] [ADD]

– Guru Dutt’s Hindi production Kagaaz Ke Phool (Paper Flowers), the first Indian film shot in Cinemascope, is released.   It fails at the box-office. [MUCH] [ADD]

– A new record for foreign films in the United States is created when Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali runs for over seven months at the 5^th Avenue Playhouse in New York. [MUCH] [ADD]

– The Federation of Film Societies is formed.   Satyajit Ray is inaugural president.  [MUCH] [ADD]

K. Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam is released after 10 years in the making. [MORE] [ADD]

– The Film Institute of India is established. [MORE] [ADD]

– The Film Finance Corporation is founded to finance quality productions.   [MORE] [ADD]

– The government acquires Prabhat Studios to set up the Film Institute of India. [MORE] [ADD]

– Gandhian Sarvodaya workers stage protests against indecent film posters and hoardings. [MORE] [ADD]

– The weekly magazine Movieland is published in Madras.  [MORE] [ADD]

India 1960: Other Films of Note

Baishey Shravana (Mrinal Sen) [MORE] [ADD]

Devi (Goddess) (Satyajit Ray) [MORE] [ADD]

Meghe Dhaka Tara (Ritwik Ghatak) [MORE] [ADD]

Ranadheera Kanteerava (N. C. Rajan) [MORE] [ADD]